Ashutosh’s whirlwind knock of 66* in 31 balls helped DC chase down the target of 210.
Ashutosh Sharma pulled off a heist for ages as Delhi Capitals (DC) opened their IPL 2025 campaign with a thrilling one-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Visakhapatnam on Monday (March 24).
Chasing 210 to win, the Capitals were reeling at 65/5 when Ashutosh came out to bat. He started off cautiously and was 20 off 20 balls before putting a pedal on the accelerator to finish with 66* off 31 balls.
His whirlwind knock, studded with five sixes and as many boundaries, took DC over the line with three deliveries to spare.
After the game, Ashutosh said he was unfazed, even when he was batting with nine wickets down and No.11 Mohit Sharma had to take strike on the first delivery of the 20th over.
“I was confident. It’s part of the game. Whether it’s an appeal or not a run. It wasn’t part of my batting, so I was confident that if he (Mohit) took a single, I would be able to hit a six. I was really confident about my ability,” Ashutosh said at the post-match press conference.
“I really enjoyed (my innings). My hard work paid off,” he said before adding: “I just followed the basics and believed in my ability. I wanted to go as deep as possible so that I could hit in the slog overs.”
Ashutosh further stated that he missed out on finishing a couple of games last season when he was part of Punjab Kings but was prepared to get the job done this year.
“Last year (with Punjab Kings) was really good but that’s history for me. I have taken the positives from there and worked on myself, to improve whatever weaknesses I had. I missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focussed and visualised about it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen,” he remarked.
Delhi Capitals’ next match is scheduled against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (March 30).